Turboatom to supply equipment for Rostov 3

21 July 2010

Ukrainian turbine manufacturer Turboatom will supply the condenser and turbines for unit 3 of the Rostov nuclear power plant, under construction in Russia.

The company said that it has signed a $23 million contract with construction leader Nizhniy Novgorod AtomEnergoProekt (NN-AEP) for the condenser for the unit. Turboatom, which is 75% state-owned, said that it will deliver the condenser by May 2011. It noted that for the first time the cooling tubes of the condenser will be made of titanium instead of copper-nickel alloys and stainless steel. The tubes will be bundled and welded at Turboatom's manufacturing facility in Kharkov, Ukraine and delivered to the construction site in modules.

General director of Turboatom Viktor Subbotin said that the company beat Russian and European suppliers to win the tender to supply the condenser for Rostov 3 because of its development of new manufacturing technology and its competitive price. He commented: 'This contract is a token for our enterprise and opens further perspectives in the Russian power market.' He noted that Turboatom will soon take part in tenders to uprate reactors at Russian nuclear power plants, including Balakovo and Kalinin.

Four 1000 MWe VVER pressurized water reactors were planned at Rostov in the early 1980s and some construction took place before work was stopped in 1990. Construction of unit 1, a V-320 type VVER, began in 1978 and this finally began operating in March 2001. Construction started on unit 2 in 1983, but was halted in the late 1990s, resuming in 2002. However, progress was slow until the project was kick-started again in 2007. Unit 2 was connected to the grid in March 2010 and is set to begin full commercial operation in October.

Rostov 3 and 4 were both ordered in 1983. The units will be larger VVER-1200 types. In June 2009, NN-AEP, a subsidiary of AtomEnergoProm (AEP), won the tender as principal contractor for the construction of the units. Construction of unit 3 began again in late 2009. Units 3 and 4 are set to be completed by 2014 and 2016, respectively.

Turboatom - the main producer of turbines for nuclear power plants in the former Soviet Union - earlier supplied the turbines for Rostov 3, but they have remained unused at the construction site. The company expects to sign a contract by the end of July for the refurbishment of these for subsequent installation. Part of this work will involve raising the capacity of the turbines from 1000 MW to 1160 MW.

Valery Limarenko, director of NN-AEP, told the Kiev Post, "The news which will be an event in the sector is the following: we have arrived at an agreement that we will bring Rostov 3 and 4 to the capacity of 1160 MWe and this means we transfer in practice to a new level of cooperation in the terms of economic features of the new units that are built today in the Russian Federation."

NN-AEP and Turboatom also agreed that the Ukrainian company would draw up its commercial proposal for the supply of turbines for Rostov 4. They also discussed the possibility of Turboatom supplying turbine-generator sets for a planned nuclear power plant in the Nizhniy Novgorod region.